Virat Kohli, who scored his 12th ODI century (fourth in 2012) and set up India's comfortable win in the first ODI, has won 11 Man-of-the-Match awards so far in his career, in just 87 matches. Since 2011, he has won seven awards in just 47 matches. However, the rise of Thisara Perera, who was Man-of-the-match in the second ODI, is even more astonishing. In just 41 ODIs, Perera has won six awards, including five in 26 matches since the beginning of 2011. In the heavily batsman-dominated ODI format, it is, however, no surprise that majority of the awards have been won by batsmen and allrounders. With Perera and Kohli winning awards at an exceptionally good rate (one in seven and eight matches respectively), here's how they compare with the other top players in ODIs over the years.

Sachin Tendulkar, by far the highest run-getter and century-scorer in ODIs, has won a remarkable 62 awards in 463 matches, which translates into a rate of 7.46 matches per award. Tendulkar, however is third on the list of batsmen with the best rates of winning match awards. Viv Richards, who maintained a 90-plus strike rate in a period when the rest of the top-order (1-7) batsmen managed a corresponding figure just over 65, ended with 31 awards in 187 matches (rate of 6.03). He is followed by Gordon Greenidge, who was Player-of-the-Match 20 times in just 128 matches (rate of 6.40). Martin Crowe, the leading run-getter in the 1992 World Cup, is fourth (rate of 7.52) and is followed by Virat Kohli (7.90). Although not the most consistent, Nathan Astle, one of New Zealand's best matchwinners in the shorter form, won 25 awards in 223 matches (8.92). The top ten is rounded off by Sanath Jayasuriya, who has won 48 awards in 445 games (rate of 9.27). Jayasuriya took time to find his feet in international cricket winning only four awards in his first 91 matches (till the end of 1995). Since the start of 1996, however, he went on to win 44 awards in 354 matches at an excellent rate of 8.04.

Bowlers have hardly been able to keep up with the batsmen in the shorter format, though Glenn McGrath is a notable exception especially in World Cup matches. In a list dominated yet again by batsmen and allrounders, McGrath stands out with six awards in 39 matches including a series award in 2007. Shane Warne, who was Player-of-the-Match in both the 1999 semi-final and final, also has an excellent rate (four awards in 17 matches). The World Cup match award stats, however, have been dominated by Lance Klusener, who won five awards in just 14 matches (rate of 2.80).

Players with the best rate of Man-of-the-Match awards in ODIs (min 10 awards)

Player

Matches

Awards

Matches per award

Viv Richards

187

31

6.03

Gordon Greenidge

128

20

6.40

Sachin Tendulkar

463

62

7.46

Martin Crowe

143

19

7.52

Virat Kohli

87

11

7.90

Saeed Anwar

247

28

8.82

Nathan Astle

223

25

8.92

Lance Klusener

171

19

9.00

Geoff Marsh

117

13

9.00

Sanath Jayasuriya

445

48

9.27

Although he has played a majority of his matches against lower-ranked teams, Ryan ten Doeschate of Netherlands has the best rate of winning awards (4.71) among players who have won between five and nine awards. Glenn Turner, with seven awards in 41 matches and Chris Broad, with five in 34 games, are second and third. Among contemporary players (top teams), Perera and Hashim Amla are on top, with rates of 6.83 and 7.12 respectively. The top-ten list is rounded off by Greg Chappell and Alastair Cook, who have won nine and six awards in 74 and 51 matches respectively.

Players with the best rate of match awards in ODIs (five to nine awards)

Player

Matches

Awards

Matches per award

Ryan ten Doeschate

33

7

4.71

Glenn Turner

41

7

5.85

Chris Broad

34

5

6.80

Thisara Perera

41

6

6.83

Hashim Amla

57

8

7.12

Michael Atherton

54

7

7.71

Zaheer Abbas

62

8

7.75

Neil Johnson

48

6

8.00

Greg Chappell

74

9

8.22

Alastair Cook

51

6

8.50

Jayasuriya, who has won the second-highest number of match awards (48) after Tendulkar, has done even better in matches when he has been captain. In 118 matches when he has captained Sri Lanka, Jayasuriya has won 19 match awards at an excellent rate of 6.21 matches per award. Ricky Ponting, the most successful ODI captain, and Arjuna Ranatunga, have also won 19 match awards as captain but have taken far more matches than Jayasuriya to do so. Richards, who won 14 awards in 105 matches as captain, has the second-best award rate (7.50).

Best rate of match awards in matches as captain (min ten awards)

Player

Matches

Awards

Matches per award

Sanath Jayasuriya

118

19

6.21

Viv Richards

105

14

7.50

Arjuna Ranatunga

193

19

10.15

MS Dhoni

124

11

11.27

Imran Khan

139

12

11.58

Ricky Ponting

230

19

12.10

Sourav Ganguly

147

12

12.25

Hansie Cronje

138

11

12.54

Allan Border

178

13

13.69

Stephen Fleming

218

13

16.76

Mohammad Azharuddin

174

10

17.40

Click here to download the complete list of players with the best rates of winning match awards in ODIs.

I see Saeed Anwar's name in the first table after Virat Kohli but he is not mentioned in the article ... The writer just skipped from Virat to Nathan Astle without mentioning Saeed Anwar... Biased Cricinfo or what?

Tysonlanka
on July 28, 2012, 8:47 GMT

the way Kholi is going we could see another great run making machine, but not great cricketer for the game because if his not given some guide lines to appreciate the game his not going make it to the top of Aravinda's / Tendulkars / Dravids / Kumbles / Waugh's / Kirstans / Viv Richards / Dhoni's

Lakmalnj
on July 28, 2012, 8:40 GMT

Both Perera and Virat are good players. But I don't think they are good as numbers suggested. Both has some luck in these days.Recently Perera improved a lot specially his fielding. I like to see his fielding than his bowling & batting. If he can learn some off side shots, he will be much better batsman than now.

dummy4fb
on July 27, 2012, 11:25 GMT

@jindal priyank , well doesn't that mean all-rounders are more valuable than batsman

Dishanstc
on July 27, 2012, 9:32 GMT

Love both these cricketers some of you might have a thing or two to say about Virat Kohli, I think he's a talented hard working cricketer who talks a lot of sense, Thissara is like wise I really enjoy watching the never say die attitude of the Sri Lankan, Thissara is a awesome athlete

dummy4fb
on July 26, 2012, 17:21 GMT

Virat the great young gun of india future of the men in blue

dummy4fb
on July 26, 2012, 16:42 GMT

being the largest populated country among cricketing nationsit is shame!
being the samallest populated country it is amazing!

jay_vkjay
on July 26, 2012, 7:09 GMT

Interesting Stats..For Kohli if he plays like he is doing now,for next 10 to 12 years,still difficult to match Sachin's record.Because 2 month IPL+ 1/2 month Champions league will comprise almost one fourth time in an year.How ca he get to play atleast 350-400 ODI's?

Sackz
on July 26, 2012, 3:31 GMT

Once again... Love reading these stats! Absolutely brilliant!

Tusker17
on July 26, 2012, 2:01 GMT

kohli looks like another Tendulkar in the making for India and Perera looks like another Jayasuriya in the making for SL.
Hopefully the silly IPL doesnt end their careers prematurely or as Mr. Jayawardena likes to candy coat it as....."Helping them" :)

Good luck to both young players. I like both of them but Perera more, not because I'm a Sri Lankan but Perera seems to be enjoying every bit of the game win or loose, whereas Kohli seems to be wearing a look of "getting done and over with a torrid unwanted burden"
Someone should tell him to smile a bit, atleast put up a grin like MS !!!

dummy4fb
on July 28, 2012, 13:35 GMT

I see Saeed Anwar's name in the first table after Virat Kohli but he is not mentioned in the article ... The writer just skipped from Virat to Nathan Astle without mentioning Saeed Anwar... Biased Cricinfo or what?

Tysonlanka
on July 28, 2012, 8:47 GMT

the way Kholi is going we could see another great run making machine, but not great cricketer for the game because if his not given some guide lines to appreciate the game his not going make it to the top of Aravinda's / Tendulkars / Dravids / Kumbles / Waugh's / Kirstans / Viv Richards / Dhoni's

Lakmalnj
on July 28, 2012, 8:40 GMT

Both Perera and Virat are good players. But I don't think they are good as numbers suggested. Both has some luck in these days.Recently Perera improved a lot specially his fielding. I like to see his fielding than his bowling & batting. If he can learn some off side shots, he will be much better batsman than now.

dummy4fb
on July 27, 2012, 11:25 GMT

@jindal priyank , well doesn't that mean all-rounders are more valuable than batsman

Dishanstc
on July 27, 2012, 9:32 GMT

Love both these cricketers some of you might have a thing or two to say about Virat Kohli, I think he's a talented hard working cricketer who talks a lot of sense, Thissara is like wise I really enjoy watching the never say die attitude of the Sri Lankan, Thissara is a awesome athlete

dummy4fb
on July 26, 2012, 17:21 GMT

Virat the great young gun of india future of the men in blue

dummy4fb
on July 26, 2012, 16:42 GMT

being the largest populated country among cricketing nationsit is shame!
being the samallest populated country it is amazing!

jay_vkjay
on July 26, 2012, 7:09 GMT

Interesting Stats..For Kohli if he plays like he is doing now,for next 10 to 12 years,still difficult to match Sachin's record.Because 2 month IPL+ 1/2 month Champions league will comprise almost one fourth time in an year.How ca he get to play atleast 350-400 ODI's?

Sackz
on July 26, 2012, 3:31 GMT

Once again... Love reading these stats! Absolutely brilliant!

Tusker17
on July 26, 2012, 2:01 GMT

kohli looks like another Tendulkar in the making for India and Perera looks like another Jayasuriya in the making for SL.
Hopefully the silly IPL doesnt end their careers prematurely or as Mr. Jayawardena likes to candy coat it as....."Helping them" :)

Good luck to both young players. I like both of them but Perera more, not because I'm a Sri Lankan but Perera seems to be enjoying every bit of the game win or loose, whereas Kohli seems to be wearing a look of "getting done and over with a torrid unwanted burden"
Someone should tell him to smile a bit, atleast put up a grin like MS !!!

dummy4fb
on July 25, 2012, 22:22 GMT

Wow. That is just crazy! Virat is the future of Indian Cricket and Perera is the future of Sri Lankan Cricket. Amazing stats and let's see where these 2 will stand in about another 10 years!

CricketPissek
on July 25, 2012, 21:26 GMT

@SmackingMachine - this 'mediocre' bowler already has 3 five wicket hauls (and 2 four wicket hauls) in 41 ODIs as well as a hattrick! please keep your hate to yourself

thegaffoor
on July 25, 2012, 20:16 GMT

Have to agree with Sumudu Pasan. The difference between Kholi and Perere is the smile..

Mali-T658
on July 25, 2012, 19:16 GMT

Comparing a batsman with an allrounder is so daft. Perera might be a good hitter but his bowling is mediocre.

dummy4fb
on July 25, 2012, 16:16 GMT

For those who thinks sachin has ended up his gud performances mostly in loosing cause.U r correct that he has record for playing highest number of gud innings in loosing cause.But this is just one side of story.He also has the record for playing highest number of gud innings in winning cause.Here gud innings means scoring above 100.If u don't believe me then search on stats guru.For reference here is the list published in for best ODI player till 2008 .http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/367281.html

dummy4fb
on July 25, 2012, 16:15 GMT

@ravi darira... dravid doesnt need ur approval to be considered as "LEGEND"... He is a legend and new players should learn from him the art of building an innings... and all this is coming from a dada's fan....

makmakmak
on July 25, 2012, 15:38 GMT

It would have been nice if you had the statistics of how many matches the team won if the player got a player of the match award.

dummy4fb
on July 25, 2012, 15:24 GMT

pathetic...kohli is still a mediocre player who s over hyped ................. i hate this series to the core......................

Uppercut07
on July 25, 2012, 15:20 GMT

DAT MAN JAYASURIYA COMES UP YET AGAIN!!!! More evidence on who had da bigger impact on da team!

cenitin
on July 25, 2012, 14:46 GMT

@Master01...Out of Sachin's 62 MOM India won in 56 matches....give respect where its due...VIV and Sachin are the two greatest match winner batsman in ODI...even Sachin got some MOM for his bowling also..

Bond_Sachin36
on July 25, 2012, 14:29 GMT

That was good stat summary..however felt bad again thought the man leads the table is still a subject of Criticism. Some one said...Sachin has not even won 5 matches out of the 62 MoM's. For your reference - India has lost only 6 games of the 62 matches. 2 in the Sandstorm series in Sharjah in 98', both Vs Aus (one was the 143 inning that qualified Ind for final). 1 vs SL in 2000 again in Sharjah. 1 vs Pak in Pak scoring 141 chasing 300+. 1 vs WI, where D&L method denied India win and last one was Vs Aus in 2009 scoring 175 chasing 350.

dummy4fb
on July 25, 2012, 14:14 GMT

THE DIFFERANCE in PERERA & KOHLI is the SMILE in PERERA'S FACE shows how LUCKY PERSON he is but it's totally OPOSSITE WHEN YOU LOOK AT KOHLI. Perera has grown up really well in bowling & batting, He is showing the character of a great player,we all know that all great players lift up their game in world cups thats what I saw in last WC final in Perera he lifted his game & was playing like a champion with bat he has improved in bowling last few months he has shown that he has developed in both batting & bowling.Now he has confidance in him & playing like a Champion.If he can stay with his confidance he will be another legend of cricket.GUD LUCK PERERA!

johnathonjosephs
on July 25, 2012, 14:09 GMT

@jindal priyank, also look at the proof. On the all time list of most man of matches, the only all rounders on that list are Klusener and Jayasuriya. All the other players are specialists (mostly batsman)

johnathonjosephs
on July 25, 2012, 14:07 GMT

@Jindal Priyank No, it's even harder these days. If you make a quick 30 and get 2-3 wickets, you will not get man of the match if someone has beaten you in both compartments. For example, if one bowler took 4 wickets, and an all rounder took 3 wickets and made 30 runs, the bowler who took 4 wickets will be man of the match. Therefore, for a batsman to get Man of Match, all he has to do is get a 50 or a 100. For an all rounder to get an award, he needs to get a 50 AND at least 1-2 wickets OR 4+ wickets. Its a lot harder for all rounders to get man of matches, but they do get more chances. Anyways, Perera looks like the biggest match winner since the days of Flintoff and Abdul Razzaq. Can't wait to see more performances from him

SouthPaw
on July 25, 2012, 13:43 GMT

Is this the objective? We Indians always have a different view on life! Wow... and here I thought that winning the ODI series was the objective...

Eat_Sleep_Play_Cricket
on July 25, 2012, 13:33 GMT

No Mahela or Sangakara in the list among the most MOM winning captains? I guess when it comes to leadership skills they fall short of Jayasurya , Ranatunga. and Dhoni.

777aditya
on July 25, 2012, 13:27 GMT

first of all, way too early to compare these 2 talented guys with past greats. Secondly, it is common sense that a team depends heavily on that 1 guy if he wins MOM every other time like Sachin used to in the Azhar era (in other words, the team is not well balanced)

Master01
on July 25, 2012, 13:06 GMT

But apparently Tendulkar never wins India games

dummy4fb
on July 25, 2012, 13:00 GMT

BASELESS COMPARISON: Riduculous to compare the PROLIFIC Batsman Virat Kohli with the PROLIFIC All Rounder Thisara Perera for the MOM. COMPARISON MAKERS shud understand the PLAYER'S Capabilities how long he is staying in the game INTERNATIONALLY FIT. For eg.Sachin Tendulkar for 2/decades as a Batsman has another 5/Years or plus and can stay fit. COMPARISON MAKERS please note that Batsman has a wide edge than the likes of the All-Rounders and Bowlers where the break-down is there, thus bids adieu.
If a Player is playing ten matches and winning on the trot 10/MOM fine. GR8. The Eleventh Hour showed signs in the newspapers that this Bowler or an Allrounder is injured, Next day Newspaper showing Out of Action for 4 to 8/ weeks. So in that period either a Bowler or an All-Rounder unable to play misses 10/matches. But a Batsman is ther playing on. COMPARISON MAKERS do not forget that in Late 70's England recalled Colin Cowdrey at the age of 42 against the Speedsters of Thommo/Lillee also

dummy4fb
on July 25, 2012, 12:58 GMT

Interesting to see that the last batsman on the list (with worst man of the match awards average) is Rahul Dravid. He also has 0 man of the series awards. haha This proves that he was no good in ODIs. Compare this with Sachin or Sourav. All Dravid fans should stop calling their idol a "legend".

CricketPissek
on July 25, 2012, 12:50 GMT

i truly hope Perera does not win the ICC Emerging player award. It's cursed! From Irfan Pathan to Ajantha Mendis

Widuror
on July 25, 2012, 12:50 GMT

sanath,you are a real captain

satish619chandar
on July 25, 2012, 12:36 GMT

the best thing is, Perera won most for bowling performances.. Good for cricket that is.. Can we have stats for how many awards won for bowling performances over years..

dummy4fb
on July 25, 2012, 12:05 GMT

Sanath`s record as a captain is amazing !

dummy4fb
on July 25, 2012, 12:02 GMT

Out of the 62 awards Sachin has got im sure India wouldn't have won 5 matches of it.. He plays for himself .. Every time he scores a century India ends up loosing.

dummy4fb
on July 25, 2012, 11:49 GMT

Perera being an all-rounder is supposed to beat Kohli and other new batsmen or bowlers if any. Even if picks 2-3 wickets (be it of lower order batsmen in death overs) and scores quick fire 30s or 40s; he becomes a good contender to win MoM. Whereas Kohli has to score the highest runs of all batsmen in a match to win MoM or a bowler has to pick at least 5 wickets-haul to win MoM. An all-rounder always have more chance of winning MoM. If he fails in one dept., he can always make up for this in other.

Cricinfouser
on July 25, 2012, 11:24 GMT

these are incredible statistics !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No featured comments at the moment.

Cricinfouser
on July 25, 2012, 11:24 GMT

these are incredible statistics !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dummy4fb
on July 25, 2012, 11:49 GMT

Perera being an all-rounder is supposed to beat Kohli and other new batsmen or bowlers if any. Even if picks 2-3 wickets (be it of lower order batsmen in death overs) and scores quick fire 30s or 40s; he becomes a good contender to win MoM. Whereas Kohli has to score the highest runs of all batsmen in a match to win MoM or a bowler has to pick at least 5 wickets-haul to win MoM. An all-rounder always have more chance of winning MoM. If he fails in one dept., he can always make up for this in other.

dummy4fb
on July 25, 2012, 12:02 GMT

Out of the 62 awards Sachin has got im sure India wouldn't have won 5 matches of it.. He plays for himself .. Every time he scores a century India ends up loosing.

dummy4fb
on July 25, 2012, 12:05 GMT

Sanath`s record as a captain is amazing !

satish619chandar
on July 25, 2012, 12:36 GMT

the best thing is, Perera won most for bowling performances.. Good for cricket that is.. Can we have stats for how many awards won for bowling performances over years..

Widuror
on July 25, 2012, 12:50 GMT

sanath,you are a real captain

CricketPissek
on July 25, 2012, 12:50 GMT

i truly hope Perera does not win the ICC Emerging player award. It's cursed! From Irfan Pathan to Ajantha Mendis

dummy4fb
on July 25, 2012, 12:58 GMT

Interesting to see that the last batsman on the list (with worst man of the match awards average) is Rahul Dravid. He also has 0 man of the series awards. haha This proves that he was no good in ODIs. Compare this with Sachin or Sourav. All Dravid fans should stop calling their idol a "legend".

dummy4fb
on July 25, 2012, 13:00 GMT

BASELESS COMPARISON: Riduculous to compare the PROLIFIC Batsman Virat Kohli with the PROLIFIC All Rounder Thisara Perera for the MOM. COMPARISON MAKERS shud understand the PLAYER'S Capabilities how long he is staying in the game INTERNATIONALLY FIT. For eg.Sachin Tendulkar for 2/decades as a Batsman has another 5/Years or plus and can stay fit. COMPARISON MAKERS please note that Batsman has a wide edge than the likes of the All-Rounders and Bowlers where the break-down is there, thus bids adieu.
If a Player is playing ten matches and winning on the trot 10/MOM fine. GR8. The Eleventh Hour showed signs in the newspapers that this Bowler or an Allrounder is injured, Next day Newspaper showing Out of Action for 4 to 8/ weeks. So in that period either a Bowler or an All-Rounder unable to play misses 10/matches. But a Batsman is ther playing on. COMPARISON MAKERS do not forget that in Late 70's England recalled Colin Cowdrey at the age of 42 against the Speedsters of Thommo/Lillee also